Flexible container with integral pilot tube holder



March 5, 1963 BELLAMY, JR 3,079,920

FLEXIBLE CONTAINER WITH INTEGRAL PILOT TUBE HOLDER Filed July 22, 1960 INV EN TOR.

DA VID BELLAMY JR.

ATTORN EY 3,079,920 FLEXEBLE CGNTAINER WITH INTEGRAL PELQT TUE HGLDER David Bellamy, In, Framinghazn, Mass., assignor, by mesne assignments, to Baxter Laboratories, Inc, Morton Grove, EL, a corporation of Delaware Fiied July 22, 196i Ser. No. 44,653 3 Claims. (1. 128-272) The present invention relates to equipment for receiving, storing and dispensing fluids such as whole blood, plasma, glucose solutions and the like which are administered parenterally. More particularly it relates to an improved flexible parenteral fluid container having pilot or sample tube holders integral therewith.

In the collection, storage and administration of whole blood it is extremely important that a sample of the exact blood contents of the container be available for testing immediately before administration to insure that the blood within the container is compatible with that of the recipient. It is, of course, highly undesirable to open the sealed container of blood to obtain such a sample because of the danger of contamination of its contents. Therefore, it has been the practice in the art to collect one or more samples of blood in glass test tubes or the like and to attach these samples to the container.

In the past various attempts have been made to fuse or glue pilot tube holders to the flexible plastic blood collection container to eliminate the need for taping the tube to the container. However, none of these attempts have been without disadvantage. For example, all of these proposed solutions have required at least one additional manufacturing step, namely, the gluing or otherwise attaching of the pilot tube holder to the flexible container. Still further, the results of these attempts have been disappointing because the holders they provide fail to retain the glass test tube in place and prevent its loss or breakage upon accidental inversion of the container.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a flexible parenteral fluid container having a pilot or sample tube holder integral therewith.

It is further object of the present invention to provide a flexible parenteral fluid container with an integral pilot or sample tube holder which may be formed during the manufacture of the container.

It is still further an object of the present invention to provide a flexible parenteral fluid container having a pilot or sample tube holder which will retain in secured position a pilot or sample tube even when the container is inverted.

These and other objects will become more apparent from the following description and drawing in which like reference characters denote like parts throughout the several views. It is to be expressly understood, however, that the drawings are for the purpose of illustrations only and are not a definition of the limits of the invention, reference being had for this purpose to the appended claims.

The invention will be described in conjunction with the accompanying drawing in which:

FIGURE 1 is an elevational view showing the flexible parenteral container equipped with the integral pilot tube holders.

FIGURE 2 is an elevational view showing the flexible parenteral container of FIGURE 1 with the pilot tube in place.

FIGURE 3 is an elevational view of the flexible parenteral container of FIGURE 1 with the pilot tubing of U.S.P. 2,896,619 in place.

In the embodiment of the present invention illustrated in the drawings, the collapsible and extensible flexible Fatented Mar. 5, 1933 parenteral container 10 comprises a bag of flexible chemically inert, plastic material such as plasticized polyvinyl chloride. The bag is preferably formed by heat sealing two sheets of plastic mateiial along the lateral edges, 11, 11', the top edge 12 and bottom edge 13 in which is located supporting means 14. Located along the upper or top edge of the container 10 are intake or outlet ports 15, 15 and an attached tube and needle set 16. Disposed along the lateral edges 11, 11' are the pilot tube holding apertures 17 and 17'.

The pilot tube holding apertures 17 and 17' are laterally located longitudinally extending slit-like apertures which are preferably formed during the container-forming heat sealing openation. The apertures 17 and 17 are preferably so spaced and of such size as to receive and grip a sample tube 13 (as seen in FIGURE 2) adjacent its opposite ends. The exact distance between and size of the apertures is of course controlled by type of pilot tube desired to be employed. For example, when planned for use with the conventional 7 ml. pilot tube shown in FIGURE 2, the apertures are approximately 1 inch long and their adjacent ends 1 /2 inches apart. This particular arrangement is also well suited to orderly retaining the loops of pilot tubing 19 as shown in FIGURE 3.

While for purposes of illustration an embodiment of the present invention was described in which the novel pilot tube holder was comprised of a laterally extending apertured seam of the container, it will be readily apparcut that alternative embodiments such as a laterally extending apertured external rib attached to plastic parenteral fluid container may be used if desired.

It will likewise be apparent that the manner of torming the apertures is not critical. The apertures may be simply cut into the external rib, or sections of rib so weakened or otherwise adapted so that the pilot tube itself may be used to form the apertures.

As previously mentioned, a problem has existed heretofore in respect to the inadequacy of known pilot tube holders to prevent the disl-odging and breaking of the pilot tube upon accidental inversion of the combination. With the structure shown, however, the pilot tube when placed in the apertures 17 and 17' of an unfilled flexible container as illustrated in FIGURE 2 is firmly gripped. Furthermore, as the flexible container is filled with a liquid such as blood, it uniquely cooperates with the novel integral pilot tube holder of the present invention to lock the pilot tube in place. For example, as the container becomes filled with fluid the weight of the fluid within the container both forces the container wall against the pilot tube and attempts to straighten the distorted rib or seam thereby locking the pilot tube in place so securely that it is not dislodged upon deliberate inversion of the combination for long periods of time.

An additional advantage of this pilot tube holder is that of being unobtrusive until time of use and then readily accessible for pilot tube insertion.

It will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that the present structure offers still further advantages over previously known container-pilot tube holder combinations during manufacture, shipping, storage and use.

The foregoing description has been given for clearness of understanding only, and no unnecessary limitations are to be understood therefrom, as modifications will be obvious to those skilled in the art.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property of privilege is claimed are:

1. A collapsible, extensible, flexible blood container of the type generally accompanied by a blood sample tube comprising a bag of flexible, chemically inert plastic material, said bag provided with an uninterrupted bottom wall, uninterrupted side walls and. a top wall provided with a blood inlet and a blood outlet, said bag being further provided with integral blood sample tube holder means, said means comprising a later-ally located external member integral with and extending longitudinally along a side wall of said bag, said member being provided with a pair of laterally located longitudinally extending slit-like blood sample tube receiving and gripping apertures, said apertures being sized to receive and grip a conventional blood sample tube and so spaced apart as to grip the tube adjacent its opposite ends, thereby binding said sample tube to said flexible bag and thus preventing the inadvertent separation of said bag and said sample tube.

. 2. In the combination of a collapsible, extensible, flexible blood container comprising a bag of flexible, chemically inert plasitc material and provided with a blood intake and a blood outlet, with a. blood sample test tube; the improved flexible blood container provided with an integral blood sample test tube holder, said test tube holder comprising a later-ally located external member, said external member being integral with and extending longitudinally along a wall of said bag, and provided with a pair of slit-like apertures spaced apart longitudinally along said external member and adapted to receive and grip a blood sample .test tube, and a blood sample test tube gripped adjacent its opposite ends in said apertures, thereby firmly binding said test tube to said flexible container.

3. In the combination of a collapsible, flexible blood container comprising a bag of flexible,'plastic material .formed by heat sealing to provide a bottom seam, side seams and a top provided with a blood inlet and a blood outlet, with a blood test tube; the improved flexible blood container which is provided with an integral 'test tube holder, said test :tube holder comprising a laterally lo cated external member, said member being integral with and extending longitudinally along said bag and provided with a pair of slit-like apertures adapted for the receiving and gripping of said blood sample test tube, said apertures being spaced apart longitudinally along said external member, and a blood sample test tube gripped immediately adjacent its opposite ends in said apertures, thereby firmly locking said test tube to said bag.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 526,501 Plummer Sept. 25, 1 894 r 1,955,008 McGee Apr. 17, 1934 2,220,746 Wentz Nov, 5, 1940 2,780,225 Barr et 'al. Feb. 5, 1957 2,784,716 Brornan Mar. 12, 1957 2,883,985 Evans Apr. 28, 1959 2,940,444 Beall June 14, 1960 3,017,883 Dickinson Jan. 23, 1962 

1. A COLLAPSIBLE, EXTENSIBLE, FLEXIBLE BLOOD CONTAINER OF THE TYPE GENERALLY ACCOMPANIED BY A BLOOD SAMPLE TUBE COMPRISING A BAG OF FLEXIBLE, CHEMICALLY INERT PLASTIC MATERIAL, SAID BAG PROVIDED WITH AN UNINTERRUPTED BOTTOM WALL, UNINTERRUPTED SIDE WALLS AND A TOP WALL PROVIDED WITH A BLOOD INLET AND A BLOOD OUTLET, SAID BAG BEING FURTHER PROVIDED WITH INTEGRAL BLOOD SAMPLE TUBE HOLDER MEANS, SAID MEANS COMPRISING A LATERALLY LOCATED EXTERNAL MEMBER INTEGRAL WITH AND EXTENDING LONGITUDINALLY ALONG A SIDE WALL OF SAID BAG, SAID MEMBER BEING PROVIDED WITH A PAIR OF LATERALLY LOCATED LONGITUDINALLY EXTENDING SLIT-LIKE BLOOD SAMPLE TUBE RECEIVING AND GRIPPING APERTURES, SAID APERTURES BEING SIZED TO RECEIVE AND GRIP A CONVENTIONAL BLOOD SAMPLE TUBE AND SO SPACED APART AS TO GRIP THE TUBE ADJACENT ITS OPPOSITE ENDS, THEREBY BINDING SAID SAMPLE TUBE TO SAID FLEXIBLE BAG AND THUS PREVENTING THE INADVERTENT SEPARATION OF SAID BAG AND SAID SAMPLE TUBE. 